Choices
by StarvingLunatic
Summary: Before becoming a super villainess, a teenage Shego learns some lessons that the choices you make can alter your life drastically, irreversibly, and not for the better sometimes. Pairing: Shego and Miss Kyoko.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own these characters.

This fic is based on the song Street Symphony (the remix) by Monica. As you might guess, I don't own the song either.

"_I love you, baby girl, but don't make me choose…"_ the opening line of Street Symphony the remix.

Choices

"It's either leave her or leave the team."

Hego thought that he had her with his demand and Shego knew that. He had called an "emergency team meeting," making sure that they were all present, accounted for, and comfortable before going in the reasons for the meeting and hitting her with the ultimatum; by the time he got to his last sentence, she was on her feet from outrage. The eldest thought that he had shamed her, Shego bet. He believed that he had embarrassed her in front of their younger brothers and she would have to do what he wanted to save what little respect that they had left her for, although they would never look at her the same again. Yeah, he thought he had her.

There was no way that Shego could walk out on them, Hego thought, especially not for the wrong thing. They were family, the only family that they had left, so he was so certain that she would remain with them. She would never leave them, he convinced himself because they were all they had. It would let their younger brothers down if she left and she did try to do right by them, even if she did yell at them often. Plus, they were superheroes and superheroes always did the right thing. So, Hego was certain that she was going to do the right thing and stay with them.

Shego did not say anything; she just stood there for a few tense moments, not even looking at her younger brothers, who were all sporting shocked faces of their own. She eyed her older brother, the man of their so-called family since he was the oldest at twenty-two years old and the legal guardian of their brothers, with deep contempt in her emerald eyes. She then walked past him, making sure not to touch him on the way by. The brothers all gasped in utter surprise as they watched her leave with that proud step that she always carried herself with. The younger brothers could not even speak because of how stunned they were, but their hearts did clench in their chests as they realized that their sister was leaving.

"If you walk out that door, you can't come back!" Hego called to her in anger, upset that she had the nerve to choose to leave. He had one hand raised in the air along with his index finger, as if the gesture would force their sister to turn around and remain with them.

"I don't plan on it," Shego replied coolly without turning around and walking out of the room, the sliding door shutting behind her and her old life.

"I'm serious!" the eldest hollered with authority while turning around to see that she was already gone. She could hear his big mouth, but she did not respond to it.

Once she was out of her brothers' view, the green-skinned teenager growled in anger and punched the closest thing to her, which happened to be the wall. She left a perfect imprint of her right fist in the steel that Go Tower was coated in while forcing herself not to cry over what just happened. She would never cry over something like that, something that was not her fault. It was all Hego's fault, just like always.

He did not have any right to do any of the things that he had done lately, like open her mail; yes, he had been opening her mail lately. He did not have any right to go through her things in her room, which he had taken to doing, searching for evident about her private life. He did not have any right to tell their little brothers her business like he had either, calling it emergency team business and then using it as an excuse to call a team meeting. Stupid team. Stupid older brother thinking that he was her father and trying to tell her what to do.

God, she did not want her little brothers to find out about things that way; she was not even sure if she wanted them to find out at all. Hego did not have any right to do that to her. What kind of big brother just outted his younger sister in front of their little brothers without any kind of remorse and making sure to sound as against it as possible?

The pompous buffoon had just called a meeting for Team Go and merely announced to their little brothers that Shego was gay and that he had proof. He had the nerve to pass around love letters from her girlfriend that he had taken from her room. The younger brothers had appeared totally flabbergasted by the news and looked at Shego as if she was a _thing_, like she was not even human or their sister, but like she was an object, a disgusting object at that. She supposed that Hego's tone influenced their reactions, but she could not even defend herself because of the shock; she seriously could not believe what was happening as it unfolded. Hego continued on, having their little brothers' attention and backing for the moment. Shego knew that she could not compete with Hego for their brothers' support at all. It was hard for a big sister to get guys against the older brother, after all.

The twins, being eleven, idolized Hego while looking at Shego as a form of entertainment more often than not. She was someone that they could bug while Hego was someone that they looked up to. They had to side with him, which they had, agreeing that Shego was doing something immoral and it was bad for the team. They agreed that she needed to think about the team and do what was right for them, practically parroting Hego word for word. It was their words that had caused her to hop out of her seat in anger at the time. What the hell did eleven-year-olds know about anything anyway?

Mego was in a similar position, even though he was fifteen. He had that teenage desire to fit in and his brothers already decided that Shego was doing something wrong. He did not want to go against the group, even though secretly, he could care less than nothing about what Shego did with her personal life. He supposed that it would be bad for the team's image, which helped him feel better about agreeing with Hego. After all, how would it look if one of the members of Team Go, the great saviors of the city, was a homosexual? That was not cool as far as he knew.

The team image, Shego mentally scoffed. It was all about Hego's image in her opinion and her little brothers were too stupid to differentiate between the two. He missed the main point when it all started anyway and she guessed that was why the big idiot was surprised that she had walked out. She was in love with her girlfriend and that was more important than playing superhero to a city full of people that she never met, did not want to meet, and would judge her just for who she was attracted to. Her beloved was more important to her than being a superhero, way more.

Her girl, her beautiful little angel, made her feel things that being a superhero could not touch. She felt like she mattered to someone beyond just saving the day, but just by being there. She made someone smile at her for no other reason than the fact that she was there. It was not about needing something from her all the time, but just needing her, enjoying her presence. She was not going to let that go for a bunch of stupid people that did not care about what happened to her after the bad guy was stopped. She definitely would not let it go for people would have the nerve to condemn her for having someone in her personal life that cared about her.

None of the people that she saved with her brothers cared about her specifically like her girl did. They never thought about her when she was out of sight or missed her when they were apart. They never wanted to sincerely know how her day was and try to make her feel better if the day was crap. They never kissed her with soft lips and whispered "I love you" in such a earnest little voice that made her heart race each and every time she heard it. If she died tomorrow, those people would forget her quickly, but she knew that her girl would never forget her.

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Shego stepped into the dark dorm room through the window. She had entered that way a few times, so it was not so difficult and she made sure to do it as quietly as possible. She went to the right side of the small room and shook the sleeping body in the bed awake.

"Hey, Kyoko," Shego whispered to her half-asleep girlfriend.

"Shego-chan?" Kyoko muttered with a yawn. Her Japanese upbringing coming out full force with the honorific added to Shego's name due to being awakened suddenly.

"Yeah," the green-skinned female answered. As if someone else would be visiting Kyoko in the middle of the night.

"What are you doing here so late?" the eighteen-year-old Japanese student inquired.

"Well, that's a long story," Shego remarked with a half smirk, trying to make light of her situation, not just for her girl, but for herself. She did not want or need the gravity of her circumstances to hit her just yet because she could not afford to buckle under the pressure.

"Tell me in the morning. We should not disrespect my roommate by talking while she's asleep, after all."

"Well, do you mind letting me sleep in the bed with you?" the super-powered teen requested.

"What? Why?"

"It's all part of the long story."

"Perhaps you should tell me now if it is very important," Kyoko replied.

"I'll do it in the morning. I don't want to keep you up," Shego said. After all, her girl had class tomorrow and needed her rest.

Kyoko smiled a bit because of Shego's thoughtfulness, which she was quite aware only existed for her. She held her cover up as a signal that Shego could join her in the bed. The green-skinned female smiled and stripped off the clothing that she had been outside in. She then crawled into the narrow bed next to Kyoko, who immediately snuggled up close to Shego. The emerald-eyed female grabbed her in a familiar embrace; the comforting hold that assured Kyoko that Shego would never allow anything in the world to harm her.

Kyoko Yoshiko was a Japanese student attending Go University on scholarship. She spoke great English and adapted well to the United States, yet still had the funny quirk of introducing herself as Yoshiko Kyoko, which she had done when she first met Shego. Kyoko had been lost on campus while Shego was just there, realizing what would never be, which was that she would never attend the famous school. She had been accepted when she applied, but she could not afford it and she did not have time for classes anyway because of Team Go, both things she blamed on Hego since he had squandered their parents life insurance money on the Go Tower and it was his stupid idea to use their powers to be superheroes in the first place. She had protested that idea, but she had been out-voted and she had decided to stick things out with her brothers since they were all she had left.

Shego had helped Kyoko find her way around Go University those first few days. It had amazed Kyoko when she found out that Shego was not a student at the school, but she was grateful for the help nonetheless. They got to know each other those first few days and found that they liked being around each other. Kyoko liked knowing someone in her new city so soon and Shego was just glad for company that was not her brothers, as that had not occurred since she graduated high school. But, they grew to like each other beyond that and ended up dating rather quickly; Shego mostly paid for things through an allowance that Hego gave her and their brothers because Kyoko did not have much money to waste.

Shego liked that Kyoko had an elegance about her, even though she admittedly grew up kind of poor in a rural area of Japan. She seemed like the opposite of everything that Shego was. She was soft spoken and polite while Shego was typically loud and blunt. Kyoko liked the pride that Shego always carried with her, the ultimate confidence that radiated off of the green-skinned teenager in powerful waves. Shego often said that Kyoko had the same thing about her, but they just exhibited the trait differently.

They had similar interests, which only grew as they spent more time together. They tended to like the same books, mostly classical pieces and just about anything written by Shakespeare. They also liked the same movies for the most part, usually in-depth dramas. Kyoko was not as into sports as Shego was, but she was open-minded and watched them with Shego to learn about them. Kyoko got Shego into anime, which they were both now very big on. They could talk to each other about anything it seemed and they often tried to. They did not mind opening up to each other because they both tried to be understanding when it came to each other, which was why they had fallen for each other.

They also sort of understood each other in a different way that other people could not relate to. They had both lost their parents. Kyoko had lost her parents at a younger age than Shego, but they still understood each other. Kyoko had lived with her grandparents after she lost her parents while Shego had been under the care of her big brother since he had legally been an adult when their parents died. It had not been much fun for either of them, but now they had each other and they felt like things were going to get better.

Kyoko also did not get awe-struck by Shego like other people around Go City, which made her comfortable around the Japanese girl. Kyoko had not known that she was a hero when they met, so she did not have a reason to get awe-struck. She had been curious about Shego's skin tone, but thought that it would be rude to bring up. As they got closer, Shego had explained what happened with her skin, which Kyoko countered by explaining what happened with her parents. It was like they had exchanged their deepest secrets.

They also expressed condolences toward each other when they finished their stories. Kyoko had done so because she could tell that her girl was touchy about her skin color. Shego had adjusted to being green, but she had hated it thoroughly for a while. She really did not mind it since Kyoko accepted it.

Shego, of course, offered up all sorts of emotional support when Kyoko talked about how she lost her parents, which was through murder of all things. Kyoko had expressed a lot of pride in Shego for being a hero since she had lost her parents to homicide, wishing that there was a hero around to save them at the time. Things like that had made Shego all right with being a hero and now she hoped that since she had quit the team, it did not mean that Kyoko would look at her differently.

----(Next morning)

"…So, that's what happened," Shego finished explaining to Kyoko that she had left Team Go and why she had done so. Kyoko's roommate had left for her morning class, so they were alone in the room. They were sitting on Kyoko's bed.

"You left your brothers for me?" Kyoko asked. She was flattered by that, of course, but she thought that Shego was lucky to have brothers and she did not want to cause a rift between the siblings.

"I don't want to be with them if they can't accept that I'm with you. I can't just be who they want me to be for the sake of keeping us altogether. That's not fair to me," Shego argued.

"But…they are your brothers," Kyoko pointed out.

"Then they should accept who I love rather than make it an issue and try to force me to choose. I'm not leaving you," Shego said soundly while reaching over to caress her girlfriend's smooth cheek, which caused Kyoko to smile.

The Japanese girl was very happy to know that Shego was not going to leave her. She did wish that she had not disrupted Shego's family as she had, but she knew that arguing with the pale teen would not get her anywhere. Shego had made up her mind.

"It doesn't matter to you that I might not be a hero anymore, does it?" the emerald-eyed female inquired.

"Of course not. I don't like you because you're a hero. I like you because you're you. So, what are you going to do?" Kyoko asked curiously.

"I don't know," Shego admitted. She had walked out on more than her brothers and being a superhero. She had walked out of her home. They lived in Go Tower. She did not have anywhere to go and she knew that she would not stay in Kyoko's dorm room. She did not have any money to her name since she knew that Hego was not going to keep giving her an allowance now that she walked out on them.

"You do need to figure that much out," the college student pointed out.

"I know. Hey, if I find an apartment, how about you move in with me?" Shego suggested. She would love nothing more than to be able to live with her girl, see her every day, and hold her every night. It would be a dream come true for her, getting to live with someone that she could get along with. She was looking forward to such a thing now that she thought about it. She was willing to bet that it would be great to live without her brothers since she could not stand being around them anyway.

"Well, first you have to find a job and then an apartment, but I would love to," Kyoko answered because she would and she knew that would fire Shego up, which it did.

Shego went out to find a job with vigor, half because she wanted Kyoko to live with her and half to prove that she could make it without her stupid brothers, but it was a bit hard for her to gain employment. Unlike Hego, who could hide his identity, Shego could not do it too well. Her green-skinned was a dead giveaway as to who she was. She tried to cover that up with makeup, which worked well enough, although it was easy to see that she was wearing a ton of makeup. But, she hit another problem after solving that one, which was that she had no work experience. Even after having Kyoko work up a résumé for her, she could not find employment beyond something that would get her minimum wage, which she took.

Kyoko encouraged Shego to take whatever job she could get, just so Shego could find and afford a place to live. Before she got a job, she sneaked into Kyoko's dorm every couple of nights for a few hours of rest before going out to pound the pavement again, searching for employment. Once she got a job, Shego did find a place to live, but it was a horrible slum of an apartment.

True to her word, Kyoko moved in with Shego once the school semester was over for the summer. Shego was ashamed to bring Kyoko into the little studio apartment that happened to also be infested with vermin. It was no place to live and Kyoko sort of agreed. She did not want Shego to be staying some place that was contaminated with rodents, but it was all Shego could afford in Go City. At the end of summer vacation, Shego sent Kyoko back to the Go University dorms, even though the student protested to the bitter end, not wanting to leave her beloved girlfriend in such a place alone.

Being alone in the apartment made Shego despair about not having some place worthy enough to have her girl live in and she was lonely there since she had never been by herself before. To make matters worse since school started, she knew that her one year anniversary was coming up. She could not afford to buy Kyoko anything worthwhile. That would not do, she mentally scolded herself. Her beloved, who had stuck it out with her in an apartment swarming with mice, roaches, and who-knew-what-else and only left because she forced her to, deserved the best. But, what in the hell was the best and how would she get it? There was no way in Hell that she would go ask Hego for money.

The answer to the first part Shego's question came in the form of a pair of earrings that she happened to glance at on the way to work. They were simple gold earrings in the shape of little triangles, but they seemed to scream her beloved's name. She later brought Kyoko by the store and the Japanese girl did flip over those earrings. Shego thought that was great until she saw the price. They were not even really expensive as far as jewelry went; they were just out of her price range, like everything else in the city. Kyoko knew that and tried to downplay how much she liked the earrings once they learned how much they cost. Shego did not buy it, though. She needed to find a way to get those earrings, Shego told herself.

She was going to get Kyoko what she wanted because if she did not, then she was not a very good girlfriend in her opinion. She would have failed the person that actually stood by her and tried to stay with her in a mouse-infested, roach-infested apartment. There was no way in hell that she was going to let a girl like that down! She was going to get those earrings by any means necessary…short of asking her brothers for help.

----(New day)

Kyoko was surprised and it showed on her face. She could not believe where she was being led to. It was an obviously expensive restaurant and Shego was going in there, like it was nothing. Kyoko stopped her by tugging on her hand.

"What's up?" Shego asked. She was wearing a little black dress that had caught her girlfriend's eye the moment that she saw it, which made Shego smirk. She was glad for such a positive reaction from the Japanese girl.

"We don't need to go there," Kyoko replied because she doubted that Shego could afford such a place.

"Sure we do. It's our anniversary and I want to show you a good time. So, just relax and let me show you a good time," the pale teen replied.

"I don't need all of this," Kyoko said. She was used to simple things; she had grown up rather poor with her grandparents. She had been lucky to get her scholarship to Go University because without it, she would not have been able to go to college at all. So, she definitely did not need a meal at a fancy restaurant, especially since she knew that her lover could not afford it.

"You deserve all this. Let me just pamper you for one night, our anniversary, okay?" Shego insisted. Although, she was making plans for the pampering to extend well beyond the anniversary now that she had gotten her hands on some money.

Kyoko wanted to argue, but Shego was not listening and the college student knew that; Shego was stubborn after all. They went into the restaurant and Kyoko did feel a bit out of place; she was not dressed for such a fancy restaurant. She was in a simple button-down magenta shirt and black skirt, but the uneasy feeling went right out of mind after Shego whispered to her that she was beautiful. Kyoko blushed at the compliment and was very glad that Shego had not said that any louder than that whisper.

The couple had a delightful dinner, even though Kyoko really wanted to say something about the prices of everything. Shego did not seem worried about it and that put Kyoko at ease. By the end of everything, Kyoko wondered if they should exchange gifts.

"Do you want your gift now?" Kyoko asked her date.

"Actually, I was hoping that you'd come with me to a hotel," Shego answered as if it was nothing; she even smiled as she spoke. Usually, she knew that her bluntness got to the very reserved Kyoko, but she also knew that she could imply what she was doing without embarrassing the college student because Kyoko was far from a prude.

"A hotel?" Kyoko echoed, as if she did not understand. She could not believe that Shego was now suggesting that they go to a hotel on her budget. They were both stretched financially and yet Shego wanted to go a hotel? It was near madness.

"Yes. I've already got the room," the super-powered teen said.

"Already?" Kyoko parroted her girlfriend once again. Her pale love seemed to becoming a spendthrift rather suddenly in her opinion.

"Yes." Shego smiled a bit. "Am I being too fast?" she asked, even though they had made love before. It just was not a common occurrence with them. It was not like she could bring Kyoko to her room in Go Tower and they could go at it. They could not do much in Kyoko's dorm room because her roommate was often around.

"No," Kyoko answered. She would love to go to the hotel if it was already paid for. She liked physical intimacy as much as the next person, after all. She was just surprised at the money that was being dished out by her girlfriend, who worked a minimum wage job.

"So, we'll exchange gifts in the morning then," Shego suggested.

Kyoko agreed with that. They finished with dinner and Shego paid for everything, not even giving Kyoko a chance to see the bill because she noticed that her girlfriend was very worried about her funds. She also made it a point to hide how much money she was currently carrying as she pulled out bills to pay the check. And then, they were off to the hotel, which was just as ritzy as the restaurant. Kyoko decided against saying anything about it, noting that she had not gotten any real answers about money that night anyway.

The room was an average-sized space, but it was still in a pricey hotel. It had a single bed, which was made as expected. The bed was a queen-sized bed, though. There was a balcony in the room that Shego really had no plans in using and would rather keep Kyoko from using in favor of other activities, but she supposed that it might be nice to go out there and check out the view before they left. There was also a television sitting opposite the bed on a dresser, but Shego was determined that Kyoko would not even think to turn on the television that night. There was also a nightstand by the bed with a lamp on it that would not be used that night either.

The Japanese teen did not have long to think about the room because soon Shego was kissing her. Kyoko responded to the affection almost immediately and returned it. They were about to rush through everything because that was their habit, but they remembered that they were alone and would be all night. They did not have to worry about when Kyoko's roommate might return; they could take their time and thoroughly enjoy every second of it. And so, they did.

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Shego was lying in bed with Kyoko hugged up close to her, which was typical when they slept in the same bed. She knew that it stemmed from Kyoko feeling safe with her and enjoying that feeling of security. Shego did not mind; she liked that Kyoko trusted her and believed in her to keep her from harm. She would do her best to make sure that nothing happened to Kyoko anyway.

The green-skinned teen was staring at her gift to Kyoko while the sunlight began gracing the room with its warm presence. She could not wait for Kyoko to awake up, although she was not sure how the Japanese girl was going to react to the gift that she had gotten her. Kyoko had been so worried about her money last night that she might get suspicious about how she got the present. She knew that she would never be able to tell Kyoko just what she had done to get the gift, but she hoped to whatever divine being there was that Kyoko's face just lit up when she saw the present.

She did note that she had enjoyed getting Kyoko the gift. She had assumed that she would feel guilty or something when she had been doing it, but she did not. All she felt was pleased that she had been able to pull off such a job and in a delicate manner. She was also able to provide something wonderful for the girl that she loved, not just the gift, but the whole night in general. Oh, she was pleased with the job that she had done and that she had gotten her hands on some money in a fairly easily and enjoyable manner.

But, Shego told herself that she would never do such a thing again. She was not going to break the law anymore. After all, her girl would undoubtedly be ashamed of her if she knew. Besides, Shego was many things, but she was not a criminal. Sure, she was ill-tempered, mostly when it came to people she perceived as stupid, and she was anti-social to a degree, but she was not a criminal. So, she was not going to do it again, even though it was fun and she did need the money that it brought in. Okay, maybe she would not do it unless she really, really needed to, but only when it was her last option; not counting asking her brothers for help, of course. So, it was settled, she was never going to do that again, unless it was the only option that she had left.

Shego's attention was taken from her prize to her love as Kyoko started moving against her, indicating that she was waking up. Kyoko's eyes fluttered open and she smiled at the sight that she awoke to, namely Shego's smiling face. The super-powered teen then leaned down and greeted her girl with a tender kiss.

"Happy anniversary," Shego said as she pulled away from the embrace.

"That was yesterday," Kyoko pointed out in a warm, slightly sleepy voice.

"To me, it's every day," the green-skinned female remarked.

"Charmer," Kyoko said with a smile and she leaned in for another kiss, which lasted almost a minute.

"I do try. Here, this is your gift," Shego said while handing Kyoko the small box that she was holding.

Kyoko turned her attention to the small box and gently took it from Shego's grip. She looked at Shego curiously as she began taking the wrapping paper off it. She could tell that Shego was eager for her to get it open because of the attention that the pale teen was giving the present. When she finally did, she gasped in surprise. It was the golden triangle earrings.

"How did you…?" Kyoko asked in a low tone. How in the hell could her financially strapped girlfriend brought her those lovely earrings?

"Nothing's too good for my girl," Shego remarked. "Do you like them?"

"You know I do," the college student answered in an awed tone. She removed the jewelry from the box and tried putting them on, but her hands were shaking from joy. She was so overwhelmed that her beloved would do such a thing, buying her something that was well out of her budget.

"Here, let me," Shego offered and she put the earrings in Kyoko's ears.

"Thank you." Kyoko gave her girlfriend a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too," Shego answered with a small smile. She also loved that she was not asked about how she had gotten those earrings because she knew that Kyoko would not approve. It had been quite the adventure, though. She had not been sure if she would be able to pull it off, but she had been able to easily cut the alarm to the jewelry store and go in when it was closed to swipe the earrings as long with a few other items that she had been able to sell on the street; she guessed that it paid to know her city well like she did because she knew right where to go to get rid of the stolen goods really quick.

It was great to have money, Shego noted. She had been able to treat Kyoko to things that she felt her girl deserved and she wanted to do it more often, which would require more money. If the jewelry store heist had proven anything, getting more money would not be a problem, but she told herself already that she was not going to do it anymore. She had to stick to that. She was not a thief, not a criminal. It was just that one time to make sure that her girlfriend had a good anniversary. That was all it was, she told herself.

Kyoko did not want to think about how Shego had gotten money for the earrings or the hotel room or to pay for their dinner; she really just wanted to focus on how great their anniversary had been. She just figured that her lover had been saving money for just such an occasion. That was great and that was what mattered at the moment.

But, Kyoko started getting a bit more suspicious as time went by and Shego started bringing her more gifts. She could not figure out where Shego was getting the money for things because as far as she knew her girlfriend was still working a low paying job and should not have money to waste as she seemed to be doing. She did not want to think too much about it because she thought that she would worry herself. She also did not want to ask Shego about it because she did not want it to seem like she thought Shego was incompetent when it came to handling money.

Shego ended up giving Kyoko gifts because she always had money left over after doing "jobs" due to "emergencies." Her definition of an emergency was expanding rapidly. It started out with her not being able to make her rent on time and then her needing money for food. Now, it was getting to the point where she was breaking into places because she felt like she "needed" shoes. Well, she could not very well continue going around in the shoes that she had once she nearly worn a hole in them, but it had not even occurred to her to save her up paycheck for new shoes.

After doing "jobs," she typically had money to waste and she liked wasting it on Kyoko. It made her feel good to see her girl smile at her. It made her feel outstanding knowing that she could offer Kyoko things like a responsible adult could. It made her feel fantastic being able to stand on her own and not need her brothers' help in any way, shape, or form. It helped that she got an adrenaline rush when she did jobs.

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Next time: the positives and negatives of Shego's new job.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own these characters.

"_Everything I do, I do for us too…_"- Street Symphony (the remix).

Choices: part 2

"Okay, baby, open your eyes," Shego said. She was holding Kyoko around her shoulders because she had to lead her girlfriend to a surprise.

Kyoko had not said anything, but "surprises" where starting to become almost a daily thing with Shego and they tended to be material items. Before a surprise from Shego meant that she showed up unannounced and was going to take her out to the movies, but ever since their great first anniversary, which had been a few months ago, the surprises had been becoming more and more frequently. They were not big things, but the things that Shego really should not have been able to afford, but the pale teen was spending money like she had more than enough. Kyoko could not help wondering where her lover was suddenly getting so much spending money.

Kyoko did as she was instructed to; she had been told to close her eyes before because Shego had a surprise for her. She gasped when she saw what the surprise seemed to be. They were standing in a very elegant apartment. She turned to her lover with a stunned look on her face.

"What is this?" Kyoko inquired.

"This is our new condo," Shego answered proudly. She had saved up some money, even though she had trying to spoil Kyoko rotten, but she felt like a new place to live was a priority. Now, she could live with Kyoko again and everything would be right in the world as far as she was concerned. She would be able to treat her girl like a princess, just like Kyoko deserved.

"New condo?" Kyoko echoed. "Shego, love, tell me you're not into drugs," she pled. Something like that would explain why her girlfriend seemed to have so much money lately. She doubted that it would be hard to get into drugs with the neighborhood that Shego lived in, well, used to live in.

Shego laughed. "Drugs?" she asked. She supposed that it could have been worse. Her girlfriend could have asked if she was a prostitute, but she doubted that a prostitute would be slinging around the dollars like she was.

"Where are you getting all of this money? Is it drugs?" Kyoko pled to know because she hoped that it was not drugs. She really hoped that Shego was not doing anything unsavory at all, but she supposed that was the only way to explain how Shego was getting so much money.

"No, it's not drugs," Shego assured her beloved with a smile and a hug. "Now, let's break this puppy in and make love in every freaking room."

Kyoko laughed and did not argue with Shego because it sounded like a grand idea. She did wonder how Shego could afford to buy a condo. The little gifts, which had been gradually getting bigger, were also alarming. She was curious and she really wanted to know, so she had to ask. Well, she asked when they were done.

"Shego, where have you been getting money for all of this stuff?" Kyoko inquired.

The couple was lying in _their_ bedroom in _their_ bed, which was a king-sized bed polished a shiny black. The spread on the bed was black too, even the pillowcases. The room itself was white, though. The walls begged to be painted and Shego had been planning on a green, but she wanted to wait for Kyoko's input; after all, the Japanese teen was going to be living there too and she knew from experience that it was no fun to live some place that she did not give input in. There was a black dresser because they were going to need some place to their clothing, but other than that that and the bed, the room was quite bare.

Shego felt so good to have been able to provide such things for her girl that she could not even describe it. It felt good for her to be able to supply something point blank. She was standing on her own and holding up Kyoko. It felt so freaking great and she was going to treasure it while making sure that it lasted for as long as it could.

"I got a new job," Shego answered in regards to where she had been getting her money. It was not a lie, at least.

"A new job? Doing what?" Kyoko asked curiously. She was glad that her girlfriend had found a new job. So, maybe it was nothing illegal and she had been worried for nothing. She scolded herself for not having more faith in her pale lover.

The emerald-eyed young woman glanced at lover. The look in her eye told Kyoko that she did not want to tell and she would prefer not to be asked. Kyoko sighed because of the secrecy and cuddled closer to Shego, which made the green-skinned teen smile. She just hoped that Shego was not doing something wrong or dangerous.

"I'm going to take care of you, baby. I promise," Shego said and she leaned down to kiss Kyoko's forehead.

"You won't have to for too long," Kyoko replied. After all, once she graduated, she planned to get a job of her own. She wanted to get into business and she hoped that she would be able to return all of the wonderful gifts that Shego showered her with by showering Shego with some when she was employed.

"I want to for as long as possible because I love you. So, I'm going to take care of you," Shego insisted while hugging her girl close to her and caressing Kyoko's shoulder.

"Just…don't get hurt doing it," Kyoko said. She was not sure what else to say, especially since she had a feeling that her girlfriend was doing something, well, not right.

"I won't get hurt. I'm going to give you the comfortable life you deserve," the green-skinned teen declared.

"I'm pretty happy with life as it is," Kyoko replied quite honestly. Everything seemed to be going really smoothly right now as far as she was concerned. Time could stand still and she would die happy where she lay.

Shego only laughed, even though she had no doubt that Kyoko was happy with life as it was, but she was going to make sure that it got better since she could. She was going to make sure her girl did not have to worry about anything at all ever again and her new "job" was going to make that possible, which only made her love "working" more so than she already did. Kyoko just gave her a reason to go out and work even harder, though.

Shego brought Kyoko all the latest clothes since Kyoko was sorely in need of a new wardrobe, only her grandparents could not afford to send her much money to get new things. Well, Shego handled that. Anything that it seemed like Kyoko needed, she had money for now. And if Kyoko wanted something, hell, she could probably buy five of them for her girl after a while.

Shego also made it a point to send money to Kyoko's grandparents, so the Japanese girl did not have to worry about them financially speaking. She did not want her lover to have to worry about anything at all. She even pointed out that Kyoko did not have to feel so much pressure from school anymore because if she lost her scholarship, she could pay the tuition. Kyoko thought that was sweet and not bother pointing out that if she lost her scholarship, she would probably be kicked out of the country since she was there on a student visa. She did not say that because Shego seemed so proud that she could pay for tuition now, but she did suggest that Shego join her in school next semester, making use of the stated tuition money, which Shego agreed to with a smile.

It felt really great to not have to worry about money, Shego thought. She could make her girl happy and she had actually found something that she enjoyed doing, not even remembering that she had planned to never do it again the first time that she had gone through with it. Now, she wished that she gotten into her new career earlier in life since it was getting her everything that she wanted, but she supposed that it never would have occurred to her before. She had always been sarcastic and maybe a little cranky, but she had never been one to do anything really wrong or illegal. Now, things had changed and she had no problem pulling a job almost once a week. It was a rush; every single time she did, it was such a rush.

The more Shego stole, the more she wanted to do it. She just thought of it as a way to shower her girl with more and more gifts, which she did do. She loved the way Kyoko's face lit up when she gave the Japanese girl something. The expression itself was motivation to go out and just keep doing her thing; the fun factor helped, but she tried not to think about that. She did love her job, though.

She tried not to think of how fun it was because openly admitting that she liked being a thief seemed wrong to her. She was not supposed to be a criminal; her parents were probably rolling over in their graves over it. So, she kept telling herself that she did it for the one that she loved. She did it to survive. She did not do it because it was fun. If she could support herself and Kyoko in some other way, she would, she tried to tell herself. She was a walking contradiction most of the time because of the thoughts that she refused to acknowledge. After all, sometimes she was telling herself that she had wished that she had started stealing sooner in life while other times she was telling herself that she would never do it again if only she could make a decent living doing something else.

Eventually, Shego had to find better fences because she was stealing bigger and better things. Little jewelry stores were nothing; they were not even a challenge to get into and she did not even bother with them because of that. She moved on to fine art from museums, which she knew could fetch some good money if done properly. It did involve having to get connections in the underworld, which she had some times to since she had been in the burglary game for a while now. She surprised a lot of people that she dealt with in the underworld by knowing the basic value of the paintings that she was swiping for them; hey, she was no idiot and she knew that art theft would fetch a good chunk of change as long as she had a buyer lined up before hand because it would be virtually impossible to sell a hot painting to just any old person on the street. She got buyers through her connections in the criminal world, where her reputation was steadily growing. Her ability to get good art, led to people hiring her to grab other things for them and people even started recommending her.

By the time the next semester of school started, Shego had enrolled and Kyoko had a new car, which was a gift from Shego. The pale woman had purchased her lover the car because she would rather Kyoko drive to school in style than to have to take the bus anywhere in Go City. Life was going mighty swell, Shego thought. Everything was going to be all right in her opinion.

After all, she had a high paying occupation and could easily provide for her girlfriend. Kyoko had never seemed happier. They had a strong relationship still. She was independent and had no plans to ever go back to her brothers; she did not even see why she should even think about them again after they way they treated her. Everything just seemed to be going smoothly and she did not see why that should continue.

The money was actually starting to worry Kyoko a little. She was wondering if Shego ever planned to stop; it certainly did not seem like she did. It seemed like the more money that Shego brought in, the more that she felt they needed. Money was not that important and she hoped that Shego understood that, especially since however Shego was getting the money could be hazardous. She hoped that everything went well for her beloved and that nothing happened to her.

----(New day)

"Damn it," Shego silently cursed as she entered the condo. The place was dark, which she expected. She had left Kyoko sleeping to go out and get some work done. She was starting to sneak out more often, trying to wait for Kyoko was in a deep sleep before going to put some work in, even though she was never strapped for cash anymore and she might have just pulled a job days ago, which had been the case that night. She had gotten things done, but things had not totally gone according to plan because the damned security system kicked in with something new, lasers. She had missed that and paid the price on her way out by getting burned across her arm before she could escape with her plunder.

The pale thief made her way to the bathroom, lightly treading on their polished, light hard wood floors. She was hoping to take care of her wound before sneaking back into bed with Kyoko being none the wiser in regards to her absence. She entered their bathroom, which had a tiled mosaic of hummingbirds in a garden around the room on the walls. There was a shower in the far corner of the room with three showerheads. The bathtub was black, large, and circular with two steps leading up it. It was a jacuzzi-style tub. The sink, which was Shego's destination since the medicine cabinet was above it, had golden goose-neck style facet. The handles were designed to look like resting birds; they were also golden.

Shego unzipped her green and black cat suit to take care of the burn; she used her Team Go uniform for reasons that were beyond her. Maybe she looked at as getting back at her brothers by using the team uniform while she was doing something that she knew they would be totally against, but she never tried to really rationalize it to herself. She was surprised when the door opened and she saw that Kyoko was not sleeping anymore.

"Love, are you all right?" Kyoko asked and then she caught sight of the burn, marring her lover's toned arm. "What happened to your arm?"

"Nothing. Work-related injury," Shego joked. Well, it was not really a joke, but she made it sound that way with the hope that her girlfriend would not fuss over her. She did not questions to come up from her little mishap.

"Let me take care of that for you," the Japanese teen volunteered.

Shego did not argue because she knew that would not work and Kyoko went to fixing up the burn. She pulled out the necessary items from their medicine cabinet, which was flanked by a row of lights on both sides. She pulled what she needed down on the sink and inspected the wound as she bandaged it. Shego noticed the examination and hoped that questions were not going to follow.

"This looks pretty bad. I hope someone didn't do this to you," Kyoko commented in her usual tone to avoid sounding as concerned as she was. She knew that if she expressed too much concern when Shego thought that she was fine, then she would only irk her pale lover.

"No, no one did it to me," Shego assured her beloved with the hope that it would keep Kyoko from pressing the issue or getting worried over nothing in her opinion anyway.

"This work…it seems dangerous," Kyoko said in a smaller voice, but she was not whispering. She just was not sure if she wanted to bring the subject up or not and thought that doing it in a gentle voice would make it more acceptable to approach.

"Well, everything has it dangers," the green-skinned girl remarked and added a shrug to downplay the situation. God, she really did not want to talk about it, especially not with Kyoko.

"Perhaps…" Kyoko muttered. She had noted that her lover slipped out every few nights, and how it got more frequent as time passed. She wondered what "work" was for Shego. It was not drugs, she believed that, but it was apparently dangerous for her to get such a burn. She supposed that it was a good thing that Shego healed better than others or she would insist that they go to the hospital.

"Perhaps what?" Shego inquired in an almost suspicious tone.

"You should take a few days off," Kyoko commented. It would be nice to have her lover in bed for the whole night for a change. She would not have to worry about what Shego was out doing at such insane hours.

"Perhaps," Shego agreed. She had already sold the item that she had lifted and she did not have another job lined up. She could take some days off, even though she really wanted to just get another job to make sure that she had money. She had to take care of her very thoughtful girl, after all.

----(New day)

Kyoko glanced to the empty seat next to her. Shego usually sat there; it was a required course that they had decided to take together. It was a morning class and Shego had decided to sleep in instead of going into class. It would seem that she had a tough night at "work."

It was starting to become a habit with Shego. She was missing class more often and she was starting to come in late every night. "Work" seemed to have became more and more important to Shego, which made it more and more of a curiosity to Kyoko. She tried her best not to think about it; all too aware that she did not wish to know, but she could not ignore it anymore. She could not willingly be blind to what her beloved was doing anymore.

She did not care about how much money Shego brought in. The "job" was screwing with Shego's priorities in her opinion. Shego needed to be coming to class and she needed to graduate college to fulfill her dream of becoming an engineer. That was what was important, not all of the money that she was bringing in, especially when they really did not need anymore money. They had everything that they needed, so now all she wanted was Shego back.

She wanted back the Shego that always went on about being an engineer once they hit campus. She wanted the Shego back that knew taking her out to the movies once in a while was better than showering her with material gifts almost every day. She wanted back the Shego that knew automatically that all she needed to be happy was for Shego to be there without thousands of dollars having to be involved. She wanted back her Shego and she could not stand idly by while "work" consumed her beloved. She needed to do something to get Shego to stop whatever work it was that she was doing.

That night, she decided that she was going to try to stop her love and she went through with it. As Shego was set to rise from their bed, as she did almost every night now, Kyoko stopped her. She reached out and wrapped her arms around Shego. The super-powered female went rigid, shocked that her beloved was awake. Little did she know, but most of the time that she sneaked out Kyoko was awake. The Japanese young woman was also usually awake when she came back in.

Shego was not sure what she was going to do now that she had been caught getting up. She told herself to lie, make up some excuse if Kyoko asked her where she was going. No, she silently objected to that. She could not lie to her perfect angel like that. She had some conscience left. Then what was she going to do, her mind asked. She knew that she was itching to go out and do her thing. She needed to go out. So, how was she going to get by Kyoko without lying?

"Stay with me tonight," Kyoko requested in a small, but clear voice. She sounded strong, even though her voice was low. She knew what she wanted and she seemed resolute in getting it. She did not want to be alone that night in bed again. She did not want Shego to go out and something happen to her. She did not want Shego to miss another class and ruin her chances at being an engineer.

"Kyoko…" Shego muttered. She actually sounded a bit shaken, like she was not sure what she should do.

"Don't go out. Stay with me," the Japanese female stated again, sounding even stronger than before.

"I…can't," the pale female replied, almost as if she was ashamed of that. She had buyers waiting, ones that would not be too happy with her if she did not show up. Besides, there was that itch underneath it all that she refused to acknowledge. She needed to go out.

"Why can't you?" Kyoko asked in a gentle tone, hoping that it would get her girlfriend to reconsider. She wanted Shego to stay with her, not just at that moment, but always. She did not want Shego sneaking off anymore.

"Don't ask questions that you don't want answers to."

"I want you to stay with me," Kyoko said again. She still sounded unyielding in her statement, but it was not working on her beloved.

"Not tonight," Shego answered. She was not sure if she wanted to be upset with Kyoko asking the impossible of her (as she saw it anyway) or if she wanted to be ashamed for not being able to give her girl what she wanted at that very moment.

"Please, tonight," Kyoko begged, her voice wavering now. She feared that she was going to be left alone yet again and that her wants really did not matter to her green-skinned lover. That fear made her voice quiver, which settled things for Shego; she felt ashamed of herself.

"Baby, I've got to go out. It's what I do. It's how I keep us afloat," Shego pointed out, talking in her own low and tender tone with the hope that it would make things better. She did need to go out; it was what she did and it was how they remained as well off as they were. Surely her love would understand that, she told herself. "So, let me go and go back to sleep," she added, still sounding gentle, but also curt in an odd way. Her tone had an underlying sharpness to it brought on by the edge that she was feeling in being delayed. She wanted to be out there already.

"I don't want to. I don't want you to leave," Kyoko replied in a near desperate tone now since it did not seem that she was getting through to Shego. She wanted Shego to stay with her and follow her dream, not travel down the dark road she seemed intent on walking.

"Go back to sleep. I have to leave. If I don't, certain people wouldn't like it," the pale woman stated. She was more offering up an excuse than a reason as to why she had to leave. She knew that she could take care of anyone that had a problem with her, but she really wanted to get out there and do her thing.

"Certain people?" Kyoko echoed in a puzzled tone. She did not like the sound of that one bit and it was only more of a reason for Shego to follow her dream and get out of the mess that she was in before it was too late.

"Yes, so go back to sleep. Besides, I'm doing this for us. I want us to be able to live comfortably together," the green-skinned female explained.

Kyoko released Shego, partially because of the implications that something bad would happen if she did not let Shego leave and the fact that she wanted to believe that Shego was doing it for them. The pale woman took her chance and left. Kyoko sighed; she was really starting to really worry and now she felt a bit guilty that she had not put up more of a fight. That was going to change.

--------------

Shego could not believe that Kyoko had been awake that time around. Maybe she was getting sloppy, she considered. She did not see how she was getting sloppy at sneaking out of her own home when she was getting better with every job at breaking and entering places. She was going to have to be more careful around Kyoko. She did not want to cause the Japanese female any stress or worry. After all, there was nothing to worry about. She was going to handle everything and be able to take care of the both of them no matter what; that was one of the great things about her new career.

--------------

Shego took a semester off from school and Kyoko had a feeling that she was never going to go back. Shego had lost all interest in school before the semester even ended and her girlfriend was very aware that. Her focus was mostly sleeping during the day and "work" now. The Japanese female was sleeping alone more often, which she knew meant that Shego was working more often; it was almost every single night now. She knew that the more that she remained silent, the deeper her loved would dig herself in whatever underworld she had worked herself into. She had to do something or she might lose her beloved.

"Shego," Kyoko said. They were in their bedroom and she was sitting behind Shego, brushing her hair. It had been something that they used to do all the time, take turns brushing their long ebony manes, but most of the time now, Shego did not even want to be bothered with the activity. Kyoko was glad that had changed that night at least. It showed her that her Shego was still in there somewhere underneath the new creature that only wanted to work.

"Yeah?" Shego replied.

"I want you to stop doing what you're doing," Kyoko stated, speaking firmly, but making sure not to sound like she was giving a command or ultimatum. As far as she was concerned, that was the only way to save her love. Shego needed to stop. They did not need money so badly anymore, so she did not have to put herself in danger anymore. There was no need for it. They could live happily and comfortable off of everything that the former hero had already gained.

"Baby, I'm doing this for us," the pale female replied. It was almost her automatic answer when the subject of her work was brought up. She was doing it for them, she told herself while little voices in her head told her that she was doing it because it was fun and she just liked having money. She was doing it to make sure that itch that was scratching underneath her skin even now ceased.

"How are you doing this for us? We don't need anything anymore. You've gotten us everything, so I want you to stop before something happens to you," the Japanese woman replied, speaking in her usual soft tone, but sounding urgent too. It was not a command coming from her, but a plea.

"Nothing is going to happen to me," the former hero insisted, going so far as waving the very idea off with a flick of her hand. She was powerful and she was smart. Nothing was going to happen at all.

"Something could. You could end up in jail or worse," Kyoko argued. She did not even want to voice the "worse" part of that, but it frightened her very much about what could happen with her beloved.

"I won't, so just let it go," Shego said, just a little annoyed now. Nothing was going to happen and that should be the end of the discussion as far as she was concerned.

"You could. Anything could happen. Not just to you, but to me. What if you make someone 'unhappy' and they come after me to get back at you?" Kyoko pointed out. The idea did worry her quite a bit. It was not wholly impossible for her to be used as bait or payback for something that her beloved did and she was not sure if her girlfriend was taking either of their safety into consideration.

"Is that what you think?" Shego turned sharply and stood up quickly. "Do you think I would ever let someone hurt you?" she demanded to know, her anger evident in her voice. As if she would allow anyone to hurt her girl! Whatever happened to all of that trust that Kyoko had in her to keep her safe and unharmed? What the hell was going on for her to dare suggest such a thing?

"There's little you could do about it if they showed up while you're gone, which you often are," Kyoko stated while climbing to her feet too and starting to sound upset herself. "You're always gone when I get home from school and you're typically just coming in when I wake up, so you just go to bed. We hardly see each other at all anymore," she added heatedly. It was like she was not even worth her lover's time anymore, like she was superfluous to Shego's life.

"Is that it? Are you lonely?" Shego asked because that seemed to be what her girl was implying. She calmed down just a bit because of the insinuations that her girlfriend was just lonely and that was probably why she was getting so worked up.

"Well, there is that," Kyoko admitted. She had been lonely for some months now. She missed her green lover and often found herself curling up with Shego's pillow since Shego was not there. The aroma lingering on the pillow was a poor substitute for the woman it belonged to.

"Well, I'm sorry about that," Shego apologized, thinking that would be the end of the argument. She even moved like she was going to embrace her girlfriend.

"That's not it, so don't think you can come over here and hug me to make everything all better. It's not just that I'm lonely, but I want you to stop doing this and I'm tired of you saying that you're doing this for us," Kyoko stated in a frustrated tone.

"I am!" Shego insisted, bothered now by the whole conversation.

"No, you're not, so stop saying that. You're doing this to do it and now you need to stop before something happens. I don't want you to get arrested and I damn sure don't want you to get killed!" Kyoko practically hollered as she spoke, showing that she had picked up something from being with Shego for three years at that point.

"I won't!" Shego huffed indignantly. "I'm not some idiot or weakling that doesn't know what I'm doing! Everything's going to be fine, okay? I'm going to be able to provide for you forever with this, okay! So, just shut up about it!" she barked.

Kyoko was unmoved and unfazed by those words and the tone. "Shego, darling, you've given me all I need and more, so just walk away from it while you still can," she replied in a calm tone, hoping to get through to her aggravated lover.

"I won't. There's still more to be gained. There's still more to get," Shego pointed out in with determined growl. She wanted it all and she could get it all. She wanted everything and then she would give it all to her girl and she bet that would shut Kyoko the hell up.

"So, you're really in it for the money, not for us," Kyoko said almost as if the realization physically pained her.

"I'm in it for us," the pale woman stated in a dangerously low tone, as if she would attack Kyoko if she contradicted her again, although it would never cross her mind to harm Kyoko, especially not on purpose.

"If you are, you'll walk away because we have all we need. So, just walk away from it. Come back to school. Get your engineering degree like you wanted—" Kyoko said in a reasonable tone, but she was cut off.

"I don't need that anymore! I don't want to be an engineer," Shego declared as if she meant it. She probably did, but neither of them were totally sure on that. She had wanted to be an engineer from when she was a kid and her stupid older brother told her that girls were not good at science and math. She would show him, she had silently vowed back then. It did not seem so important anymore and she had forgotten the promise that she made to herself as a child.

"I thought that was your dream," Kyoko pointed out. She remembered that was all her girl talked about wherever they hit the school's campus, just how great an engineer she was going to be. She wanted to see that happen. She wanted her lover to achieve that dream because she knew that would bring Shego true happiness, not all of the material garbage that she kept collecting.

"My dream is to be able to give you everything you want and deserve," the pale female said forcefully, as if that would get the Japanese woman to understand.

"You have, so let it go," Kyoko replied in a calm, but forceful tone of her own. That was a command.

"There's still more," Shego stated with a growl. There was still so much more and she silently admitted that she was doing something that she loved. And, as long as she kept doing it, she could give her love the world and more.

"Shego, there isn't anymore, so walk away. Stay with me," Kyoko implored her beloved with an aching expression in her eyes. She deeply and desperately desired that her love stay.

"What are you trying to say?" Shego inquired in a suspicious voice with a look to match in her emerald eyes because it did seem like her girl was implying something.

"Darling, please, just stay with me. You walk away from this or I'm going to walk away because you're not doing this for us anymore. You're doing this for either the love of money or just the thrill. I don't want to be here when this catches up with you. I don't want be here when you're arrested or if the people you do business with come to collect," Kyoko explained.

"I wouldn't let anything happen to you," Shego insisted. She would not let anyone harm her beloved and there was a time when Kyoko believed that, but that was in the past. Shego could not protect her if she was not around most of the time.

"You need to leave this life you've made for yourself before it's too late," Kyoko stated, her eyes pleading with Shego just listen to her and stay while her voice was ordering that Shego stay.

"You know, you didn't care about this when I was taking you out to all of the best restaurants. You didn't care when I was buying all the best clothes and jewelry. You didn't care when I brought you the car. You weren't so scared then and don't try to pretend like you didn't know what the hell I was doing at the time," Shego countered, sounding more pissed off with every word that she spoke. All of sudden she was wrong for wanting the best for them? Like hell! She was not going to accept that when everything was fine before.

"It was nice," Kyoko admitted easily because that was the truth of the matter. "But, I would take you over all of those things. You don't need to impress me, darling. I would've stayed with you through your other job. I would've stayed with you in that rat infested apartment—" she tried to explain, but she was cut off.

"I didn't want you to! You deserved better than that! We deserved better than that. All that time I spent busting my ass for this city and I never got a damn thing for it! I deserve this!" Shego hollered.

Kyoko nodded slowly, as if she finally understood it all. "That's at the heart of the matter, isn't it? It's really what you want," she said, looking rather disappointed. It was never about them or her, but it was all about Shego.

"Why can't have what I want?" Shego demanded to know. "I've put in hard hours and got nothing in return, but kicked out of my damn home for loving a woman that suddenly wants to get on a high horse after I've given her everything a person could!" she declared heatedly.

"So, now it's my fault that you got kicked out too?" Kyoko asked in a calm, but small voice. Now she was hurt. It would seem that her beloved blamed her for what happened between her brothers and now Shego thought she was being ungrateful. She supposed that she could not feel any worse at the moment than if Shego did slap her.

"I didn't mean it that way," Shego said quickly as she realized what she could end up talking herself into, or out of, namely her relationship. "Look, let's just drop it, okay? This is what I do. It's what got us where we are. It's got us everything we want," she defended her actions in a calm tone. She was trying to compose herself to avoid saying something she might end up regretting.

"And that's why you should leave now. I don't know how deep you're in, but you shouldn't go any deeper than what you have, so walk away. I wouldn't know what to do if you were in jail or worse," Kyoko informed her girlfriend, her eyes pleading with Shego like a starving child to understand her point and just agree with her.

"I can't just walk away," Shego argued while glancing away. She did not want to see the expression in Kyoko's beautiful eyes anymore.

"Is it that you can't or don't want to?" Kyoko inquired. Shego was silent. The Japanese woman nodded. "What's more important to you, Shego?" she asked in a stronger voice than she was feeling at the moment. Part of her was afraid that the job was more important to Shego.

"You, of course," Shego answered. Doy! Of course her girl was more important to her than a job, even if that was job was a career to her now and she had been doing excellent work that she loved. Still, she loved Kyoko way more than anything else on the planet.

"Then leave it," Kyoko said firmly one more time.

That time, Shego nodded, as if she agreed and with that the argument was over just like that. The pale woman did stay in with Kyoko, not just that night, but all the time now, which the Japanese female adored. She showered Shego with attention and homemade meals, mostly Japanese foods because that was what Kyoko was accustomed to making for herself. Shego did not complain, but she was starting to seem distant, zoning off sometime, even at crucial times. Her mind just easily wandered now while she tried to ignore that underlying itch, which was becoming more and more bothersome and demanding.

"Shego," Kyoko said in a just a little bit of an offended tone.

"Hmm?" Shego replied, not really looking at her girlfriend as much as she was looking through her.

"Are you going to make love to me or continue to daydream?" Kyoko inquired with a bit of a teasing smile, although her self-esteem was stinging just a bit. She was on top of Shego and topless to make matters worse because Shego was not paying her any mind at all.

"Oh," Shego muttered as if she was surprised with what was going on. She could not believe that she had drifted mentally with her girl right on top of her. She turned her attention to Kyoko, even though at the back of her mind, she was thinking about how much she wanted to go out and break into some place with a complex security system. She liked the challenge and the rush when she finally made it into some place; it would get rid of the damned itch that she was experiencing every freaking day of her life.

Kyoko hated to think where Shego's mind was. She often detested thinking about where Shego's thoughts were. She did not want to think that she was losing her beloved to illegal activities. Shego had chosen her, she told herself. Shego would stay with her, she told herself. Shego would not go out and put them both at risk. Shego was not like that, but then what was making her mind wander like that?

"Darling," Kyoko said in a whispered tone while trying to catch her breath. She was resting on top of Shego still, but she was now spent for the night.

"Yes?" Shego replied while her hand caressing the small of her girl's back.

"I'm the only one for you, right?" Kyoko asked curiously.

"Of course. Why would you ask?"

"Well…just because you zoned out on me right before we were about to make love. It seems a bit…odd," Kyoko pointed out. She did not want to come right out and say that she was now fearful that Shego might be cheating on her, as it would explain why Shego did not seem interested in being intimate with her.

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to do that and you're always going to be the only one for me. No other human being could take your place," the pale female answered sincerely.

Kyoko smiled; that was good to know. But, it did not explain why her beloved's mind was not in the same room as they were more often than not, especially while they were supposed to be having sex. If Shego was not thinking of another person, then what was she thinking about?

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Next time: the end.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own these characters.

"_I gotta get you outta the streets/ I disagree when you tell me that you're doing it for me… I need you here with me…_" Street Symphony, the remix.

Choices: the conclusion

The night that Kyoko woke up alone in bed, she tried not to think anything of it at first. She considered that Shego might have just gotten up for something in the apartment and would be back. After a few minutes of waiting, she knew that was not the case. She frowned, but tried to tell herself that it was not possible. There was no way that her beloved would go out and do something dangerous after they had had an argument about it and reached an agreement. But, after a few more nights of such behavior, she figured that Shego had gone back on their agreement.

"Darling," Kyoko said as Shego entered their bedroom after being absent for the night.

"Kyoko," Shego gasped in surprise. She was shocked that her lover was awake and it showed on her face.

"Where have you been?" the Japanese woman inquired as if everything was fine when she was actually boiling over with rage. It did not even matter what Shego had done, whether she had gone out to "work" or had just gone out. The fact that she had done it in a sneaky manner made it seem like a betrayal because she obviously did not want Kyoko to know about it.

"You know, out," Shego answered nonchalantly and with a shrug to boot. She was a bit shocked that she had been busted, but she did not think anything of it. Surely, her girl would cut her a break after all they had been through, she reasoned. It was not like she had gone out and killed someone after all and it was not like she was out sleeping with other women. Surely her girl would forgive her. She just needed to stop the itching.

"I thought you weren't going to go 'out' anymore," Kyoko stated, still speaking plainly, but her mood slipped in a bit.

"I couldn't help it. We do need money to live," Shego argued since she could tell that her woman was just a tad upset with her.

"We have money to live," the Japanese woman pointed out. They had more than enough money to last several lifetimes.

"Well, we need a steady income," Shego countered.

"Shego, I really can't do this," Kyoko sighed; she sounded defeated. She stayed up late, worrying about if Shego was going to come home now. And if she did come home, what kind of state she was going to be? What if she ran across some horrible people? What if she did business with people that betrayed her? It was scary just thinking about and she just could not take it anymore. If that was what Shego wanted, that was fine, but she did not want to be any part of it anymore.

"What are you saying?" Shego asked in a panic.

"I don't want to be up late all the time worrying if you're going to come in or not, thinking that you might have been arrested or worse. I can't take this stress. It's nerve-wracking. I don't want to lose you," Kyoko answered.

The green-skinned woman hurried to her girl's side and embraced her. Kyoko returned the hug with her own, holding on tightly to Shego. She really did not want to lose Shego. She loved her girl and appreciated everything that Shego did and was doing for her, but she was scared for Shego and for herself actually. She did not know what kind of lowlifes Shego was dealing with and what they might do to either of them if something went wrong. Yes, she knew that Shego was strong, but Shego was still only one person and she could not be around all the time.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I didn't mean to make things hard on you," Shego apologized honestly. She did not mean to do what she was doing. She just wanted to be a good girlfriend and make sure that they would have everything that they wanted, needed, and deserved. She had no desire to hurt or scare Kyoko during the process.

"So, you'll stop?" Kyoko asked in a small, hopeful voice. She was afraid that Shego was going to give her another excuse as to why she could not stop and she knew that it was going to be the final straw. She just could not take it anymore.

"I'll stop," Shego promised.

Kyoko smiled and held on to Shego tighter. Shego smiled too and leaned in for a kiss, which was passionately returned. So, it was settled, she was going to stop. She could stop, Shego told herself. Kyoko believed that she could stop and she would stop for Kyoko. Or that was what she told herself.

Just like when she quit before, Shego continued to think about stealing. She tried her best not to be distant when it came to Kyoko, especially if they were in bed. She did not want to run the risk of Kyoko assuming that she was cheating on her or something just as ridiculous. She took the role of being the homemaker out of the pair of them since she really had nothing else to do with her time, giving Kyoko a chance to study more. They even discussed Kyoko applying to Go University, or really any other university in the United States, for graduate school. They needed some excuse to get her to stay in the country since she was about to graduate anyway.

Everything seemed to be going smooth until some old clients contacted Shego while she was out grocery shopping of all things. They figured that it was all right since Shego disliked setting things up over the phone, unless she and the other party involved were both on payphones. They had a job, a tantalizing job for the simple fact of where they wanted her to break into, which was high-security office building. They would not take no for an answer, needing the blueprints for some kind of high-tech weapon. It was something that she had never done before, but she told herself that she could not betray Kyoko's trust again.

She tried to insist that she was out of that life, but the fellows just kept offering her more and more money. It did not help matters that she knew the place that they wanted her to break into and she would love nothing more than to try. The place was supposed to have the best security system that a building could have. At first, she walked away and just told them that she did not do things like that anymore and they would need to find someone else.

She then did a complete 180 and accepted when she wandered by an expensive jewelry store and saw a diamond necklace that she just had to have for her beloved. She would love to give it to Kyoko as a graduation gift, but she was not going to steal it. She did not steal anything that she gave her girl except for their first anniversary gift. She knew that Kyoko would never want to have something ill-gotten; she thought that one degree removed from the stolen item made gifts okay and Kyoko seemed to be fine with that.

A little evil voice in the back of her mind told Shego that the graduation gift was just an excuse to agree to the job. She had that same old itch that came up every time that she quit stealing. She wanted that thrill that she got by breaking into some place and making off with supposedly secure item. She missed that and she wanted it back, if only for the night. Her lover would never know and she could just quit again. It was that simple to her.

--------------

Kyoko frowned as the night pressed on. She had come in from class and found that Shego was not home, which she did not think anything on. After a few hours, she started to worry. She called Shego's cell phone several times, but those calls were not answered; she had recently bought the cell phone just so they could stay in touch and it was supposed to keep Kyoko from worrying about her. The Japanese woman hoped that nothing happened to Shego and she did not know what to do, so she sat by the phone, hoping for a call.

The only time she left her seat was to use the bathroom. She even stayed up late that night, waiting, praying for a call from her beloved. She nodded off for a moment and when she woke up, she noted the light blinking on the phone, indicating that there was a message waiting. She played the message immediately, hoping that it was Shego calling and telling her that she was all right.

"Hey, baby, don't get mad at me, but I need your help. I need you to go into our closet and go into a shoebox. You know which one I'm talking about and then I need you to…come bail me out…of jail," Shego said into the voicemail. Her voice sounded ashamed and embarrassed.

"Jail?" Kyoko echoed. She frowned deeply, practically scowling.

She could not believe it. Shego had gone out and gotten arrested, just like she told her would happen. Shego had been at her old tricks. It would seem that the money was what she really wanted. It was never about them; her lover had just been using that as an excuse all the time. It was about the money that she kept bringing in and she obviously was not going to stop. In fact, she was just lying now. She had the nerve to claim that she was going to stop, but did not. She pretty much lied right to Kyoko's face, thus betraying her by going back on her oath.

The Japanese woman was angered and hurt by that realization. Shego had lied to her while looking her right in the eye. Okay, apparently, Shego would rather have money than have her; logically, if Shego wanted her, she would have kept her promise. Fine, it could be that way then. She was not going to stick around for things to only get worse and for her to only get hurt again, maybe more than just emotionally. It was over.

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Shego was released from lockup after making bail. She could not believe that she had let something as stupid as a silent alarm cause her problems. But, she supposed that it was all right since her lover had come to bail her out. The odd thing was that Kyoko was not there to greet her upon her release. The car was there, but her girlfriend was not. It was weird and she waited around for a while, hoping that Kyoko would be back. But, the Japanese woman never made an appearance.

Shego drove the car home and found the place silent and empty, which her body was starting to mimic out of anxiety. She rushed through the place and discovered some oddities, mostly that her beloved's clothes were gone. Not the expensive clothing, but the clothes that Kyoko wore daily, along with her shoes and her books.

"No, no, no," Shego said and searched the apartment more thoroughly, hoping to whatever divinity there was in existence that her beloved had not actually left her.

Everything for the most part was still in their home. None of Kyoko's jewelry was missing, except for the golden triangle earrings that she wore all the time from their first anniversary. Pretty much everything that she had ever brought Kyoko since she started stealing was still there. And then she noticed the light flashing on the phone, telling her there was a message waiting.

"Darling, it's clear to me that you have no plans to let go of that life and I just can't do this anymore. I can't pretend I don't know what's going on. I can't pretend it doesn't hurt when you leave me at night, especially after telling me you wouldn't do this anymore. If that is the life you want, then it is yours, but I won't be a part of it. I wish you the best. I do still love you, but I can't be with you anymore," Kyoko informed the answering machine.

Shego growled in anger and slapped the phone off of the nightstand. How could she just leave like that! Worse yet, she did not tell Shego where she was, so Shego could not go after her. She made it seem like it was all Shego's fault, or so the pale woman thought anyway. They could have talked things out like before. They could have done so many things, but instead Kyoko left the like the coward she always was.

Fine, Kyoko wanted to leave after all she had done for her, Shego hollered in her mind. She did not care! She would show Kyoko. She would continue on and just wait for Japanese woman to come back because she was sure that Kyoko would. After all, no one would ever treat Kyoko the way she did. No one would ever treat Kyoko like a queen and she would come back to Shego because of that. She would…right?

----(Four years later)

Kyoko was working late that night, still at her desk with a stack of paperwork. She needed to get things in order because Nakasumi-san was making a speech for the grand opening of one of his new factories. They were going to have to be on the plane early too. She was going to look a mess when it was all said and done, she thought, but she did not really mind that; she did not have anyone that she needed to impress visually anyway. She was pretty much married to her work and did not have time for a social life, not that she wanted one. Her attention was diverted from the papers that she was going through because she heard a noise in the office across the hall, Nakasumi-san's office.

Kyoko rose from her desk to go see what was going on. She knew that Nakasumi had left for the evening, so she was not sure who or what was in his office. She opened the door to see a figure clad in green and black sifting through the filing cabinet that was position against the wall in the rather large, lush office. She gasped and the figure faced her, making her gasp again.

"Shego?" Kyoko said, not believing her eyes, but there Shego was, standing only a few feet away from her.

"Kyoko?" Shego said in a surprised tone of her own. Of all the places Drakken had her heisting things from, Kyoko had to be there? What were the freaking odds? Oh, man, Kyoko looked good, her mind immediately noted. That magenta mandarin-style shirt was clinging to her former woman in all of the right places. Aging had done her well; she still looked like such an angel.

"I'd ask what are you doing here, but that's fairly obvious," Kyoko remarked, trying her best to sound normal. The sight of Shego dredged up a lot of memories and emotions, all of them mixed. She did not know how to feel, although the sight of her former lover did confirm something that she had suspected since she left.

"It's obvious for one of us. What are you doing here? Became a secretary and found yourself a sugar daddy?" Shego teased. The taunt was to hide the fact that she was hurt and embarrassed to see Kyoko, to have Kyoko walk in on her while she was working. There were so many nights that she longed to hold that slender body in her arms in the past and she could barely remember what that experience even felt like because back then, even when she held Kyoko, her mind had been thinking about stealing.

"I am Nakasumi-san's trusted and valued assistant," Kyoko declared proudly. It was an honorable job and allowed her to work in the business world, as she desired. She had fulfilled her dream and apparently, Shego was still doing the same old thing.

Shego rolled her eyes. "Big deal," she muttered, trying to make light of the confident woman and the fact that she had found her niche in life.

"And I can see you're still doing what you love. I always wondered why you flipped through dozens of papers almost everyday. And then I heard about you achieving international infamy, being wanted in eleven countries. You must be proud of yourself," Kyoko commented sarcastically.

"I am," Shego stated soundly. Well, she had been until she saw Kyoko. Now, her life seemed so meaningless, like nothing that she had mattered because something or someone was missing.

"That's good. I suppose we never had any hope then, huh?" Kyoko muttered, thinking aloud more than anything else. Apparently, she never would have been able to compete with Shego's "career." So, it was the best thing that she left. The revelation coupled with the feeling that Shego's presence confirmed merely agonized her further. She did a good job of not showing the pain, though.

Shego was stunned by those words. Did they really have no hope? She never thought that for a second when they were together, but she did not see the point in voicing that. It would be best if she did let Kyoko think that since there was no chance of them ever being anything again.

"If you leave now, I won't call the police on you," Kyoko stated. She was not even sure if she could call the police on the pale woman, but she needed to say something to get Shego out of the office and hopefully prevent her from stealing whatever it was that she was looking for.

Shego smirked and decided to tease the Japanese woman again. "Aw, you still love me," she quipped.

"I do," Kyoko easily confessed, which stunned the hell out of the thief. That was what the sight of Shego had confirmed. She definitely still loved that green-skinned woman with all of her heart and soul. "I love the you that you once were before the money was everything and the only thing that you wanted."

"You loved the hero I used to be. That's what mattered to you," Shego argued heatedly. It was never about loving her, but having a hero that could protect Kyoko, she was willing to bet.

"You know that's not true! I would've stayed with you through every hardship you ever faced, not just the low paying job or the small apartment, but everything! But, you lied to me. You betrayed my trust and proved that I didn't matter to you at all. The only thing that you cared about was money," Kyoko shot back.

"You mattered to me!" Shego blurted out because of the heat of the moment. Damn, she really wish that she could take that back. But, then again, she wished that she could take a lot of things back when it came to Kyoko.

"You had a funny way of showing it," Kyoko remarked with venom in her voice. God, how she wished that Shego had shown her back then that she mattered instead of lying to her so many times. She would have stayed if that was the case.

Shego did not miss a beat and regained her composure. "It went with your funny way of appreciating it, running away without even bothering to talk it out."

"I didn't want to be lied to again," the Japanese woman huffed. Lying seemed to be the only thing that Shego do when talking to her back then.

"You shouldn't have asked then," Shego said with disdain in her voice, as if that made any sense.

"That's no way to have a relationship. We used to be open and honest with each other. We used to be able to tell each other everything and then suddenly I wasn't supposed to ask and you were lying if I did? That's no way to behave, especially toward a lover," Kyoko argued.

Shego was stuck. How could she debate against that? Their relationship had been closed off once she started being secretive. She used to be able to tell Kyoko everything under the sun about her, but when she became a thief that all stopped. She was not able to talk about anything because she had been fearful that she would lose Kyoko and that happened anyway. Smooth move, loser, her brain commented. She had lost the most precious thing in the world to her and she was so stupid that she only just now realized it completely; or at least, she just now acknowledged it.

"Kyoko…" Shego wanted to say something, but she was not sure what. "I…I just wanted to make you happy," she mumbled in a sorrowful tone.

"As I constantly told you back then, when you never listened to me, I was happy and I wished that you had just been able to keep your word. I would have been happy with you, Shego, if only you had kept your word. But, now we are where we are. So, like I said, if you leave now, I won't call the police," Kyoko replied.

"What if I just take you along with what I came here for?" Shego proposed with a sinister smirk.

"What good would that do us? You'll take me to your lair, tie me up, ravish me for the rest of our lives? Do you think that's going to make me want to be with you again? Do you think that'll be even close to a substitute of what we had?" Kyoko countered, almost sounding insulted and quite angry. How dare Shego even joke about doing such a thing to her after what they had in the past? After they had been so close and so in love? How dare she even think such a thing after what they had?

"Kyoko…" Shego was not sure what to say. She wished that there were words to get Kyoko to give her one more chance right now because she would actually leave it all behind for the Japanese woman because Kyoko had been the one thing in her life that gave it meaning. She wished that she could bring herself to say those words and that her former lover would believe them and that they could be together again, but she knew that such a thing would never happen. Kyoko probably would never believe any words that came out of her mouth now. No, she had ruined that trust in the past and it was never coming back.

"Just leave, Shego. Make this easier on the both of us this one time," Kyoko pled, tears starting to well in her eyes at the sight of the woman that she knew she still loved with all of her heart and she probably always would. She wished that they could go back and do it all over again with the knowledge that they had now. Maybe they would have been able to save their relationship or maybe they were just doomed to fail.

Shego doubted that she would ever feel as low in all her life as she did at that very moment. And instead of prolonging the agonizing moment for the sake of seeing the one woman on the planet that she loved just a little longer, she actually obeyed Kyoko. If only she could have done that years ago, they both mentally commented. Now, it was too late for them. There was no "them" and there never would be. There was only a past and in that past, a teenage Kyoko and Shego loved each other and they smiled together while holding each other tenderly. In the present, a grown Kyoko and Shego loved each other and agonized over it, separately, never to be together again.

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The End.


End file.
